Here is where I will be keeping all of my mock off seasons. Here is the first version. I kind of like to do it from a first person point of view, because I think it better shows my thought process for the moves I make.

I am bored. Update time.

Restructures/Extensions:

We are currently about $20M over the cap, so moves need to be made.

Sign Tony Romo to a five year extension worth $75M.

We are committed to Tony as our quarterback, and we think we have the ability to finally surround him with teammates who can help him win. He may be turning 33, but he is young in terms of playing time. We want him long term, and we will find a guy to groom in the next draft or two.

Restructure Brandon Carr's contract.

Carr has a built-in clause in his contract that will allow us to save $10.4M by restructuring his deal off the cap. This is a no-brainer for us. Combined with the Romo deal and rolling over about $2.3M from our cap last year, we are back even with the projected salary cap.

Restructure Jason Witten's contract.

By restructuring Witten's deal, we are doing two things. One, we are saving $3.6M off the cap. Two, we are showing Witten how much he means to this team. We want him here long term, and we think he still has some great football ahead of him.

Ernie Sims - One year deal worth $1.5M.
L.P. Ladouceur - Three year deal for the veteran minimum.

Pre-Draft Trades:

The Dallas Cowboys trade WR Miles Austin to the Miami Dolphins for the 77th pick in the draft (205 points).

Total Savings: $3.5M

New Draft Picks:

1.18
2.47
3.77
3.80
4.111
5.144
6.175
6.181

Free Agency

William Hayes signed to a three year deal worth $7M.

Hayes is coming off a fantastic year with the Rams, but is still an unknown commodity. Hayes graded out as PFF's 9th best run stopping 4-3 DE, and he registered a career high seven sacks. He does not have a place on the Rams with Chris Long and Robert Quinn, and Dallas will give him a chance to win the starting SDE job. He should help keep legs fresh in the defensive line rotation.

Pat Lee signed to a two year deal worth $3M.

After losing our special teams ace in Danny McCray, we bring in Pat Lee to take over duties. He will also be our dime corner.

Robert Turner signed to a two year deal worth $1.5M.

A Callahan guy who can play multiple positions along the line. Will be our main swing man.

Brandon Moore signed to a three year deal worth $10M.

After some deliberation, Moore decides to come back and play for his former offensive line coach, Bill Callahan. If Moore were five years younger, he would be in line for a bigger pay day. He is still one of the more underrated guards in the NFL, and we believe that he can be a solid guy that can upgrade our line.

The Dallas Cowboys trade the 18th pick (900 points) in the draft to the San Francisco 49ers for the 31st (600 points), 61st (292 points), and the 125th pick (47 points) in the 2013 NFL Draft.

The 49ers really coveted Xavier Rhodes and couldn't wait any longer to jump up and grab him. They have many picks in this draft and very few needs, one of them being a lockdown cornerback. With our main targets, Chance Warmack, Shariff Floyd, and Sheldon Richardson off the board, we moved back.

The Dallas Cowboys trade the 61st pick (292 points) to the San Diego Chargers for the 76th (210 points) and the 107th picks (80 points) in the 2013 NFL Draft.

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths: Arguably the most athletic guard in the draft. Moves very well in open space and can get to the second level to deal some damage. Able to wall off defenders and flashes the ability to move them around. Head is always on a swivel and he demonstrates great awareness. Anchors well. Handles speed and power pass rushers very well. Wide base, long arms, and strong hands. Good balance and ability to pull. Does everything well.

Weaknesses: Main issue with Cooper is his strength. Can get knocked back by bigger, stronger tackles. Doesn't maul defenders like you want your franchise guard to do. Can allow pad level to rise from time to time. Shoulder surgery prior to his senior season that may need to be checked out.

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths: Quick first step, can really shoot the gaps to make plays in the backfield. Takes on double teams regularly and does it well. Able to stack and shed into gaps. Advanced pass rush moves at this stage. Swim, club, and rip moves are well used. Active hands. Effective bullrush as well. Tough player and will chase down plays from behind. Good about getting his long arms up in the air to knock passes down. Flashes pure dominance at times.

Weaknesses: Conditioning, conditioning, conditioning. Short takes too many plays off, likely because he saw so many double teams at Purdue. Because of this, he is inconsistent. Plays with a narrow base and can get washed down the line. Doesn't protect legs. Content with just occupying gaps and not making plays. When he gets tired, his technique suffers.

3rd Round

Bacarri Rambo - Safety
Height - 6'1
Weight - 215
School - Georgia

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths: Classic centerfield free safety. Reads quarterbacks well and has good instincts. Fast enough to be the last line of defense. Good ball skills. Flashes big play potential heading the other way. Aggressive hitter. Smart about hits, doesn't draw many penalties. Good size for either safety position, but I think his best fit is as a free safety in a cover two style.

Weaknesses: Not the best wrap up tackler. Too often goes for the big hit and misses. Gambles on a lot of deep passes and can get beat because of it. In run support, he is not an "in the box" safety. Can get caught up in traffic and give up running lanes. Failed two drug tests at Georgia.

*Disclaimer - I do not believe that RKG means that our football players need to be perfect off the field. Garrett is looking for the right players that fit his mold, not choir boys as TO_7 puts it.

Brian Schwenke - Center
Height - 6'3
Weight - 307
School - California

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths: Possesses good size, and uses his build to his advantage. Leverages and anchors well against bigger tackles. Very quick off the snap and quick to get his hands into defenders. Shows a nice pop and punch on contact. Blocks through the whistle. Head is always on a swivel in pass protection. Does damage at the second level. Helps out guards. Walls off and turns defenders well.

Weaknesses: Lacks elite strength in the upper body. Can get lost sometimes. Inexperienced at center, only one season under his belt. Awareness is still improving. Shotgun snaps are a little off at times. Doesn't maul his man, strictly a wall and turn blocker.

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths - Very good athlete with natural flexibility and bend around the edge. Quick hands and feet. Light on his feet laterally and in pursuit. Very fluid. Active, strong hands. Gets up in the passing lane and takes away QB's vision. Good instincts. Really sets the edge well, and continued to improve in this department all year. Generally keeps good pad level and learning to use hands. Violent hands that rip well. One of the best motors in the draft. Always on the move and looking to make a play.

Weaknesses: Bit of a one-year wonder. Most of his experience comes at the JUCO level, and only stepped in to start in place of Brandon Jenkins. Still very raw and will need some seasoning. Still developing pass rush moves. Can get overpowered and needs to bulk up. The ACL tear is an obvious concern as well. Otherwise, he is likely a first round pick.

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths: Good frame for a back with room to add ten more pounds without losing elusiveness. Lateral agility and acceleration are his strong suits. Very quick burst through the hole. Enough speed to break away through the secondary. While elusive, he does not necessarily shy away from contact. Effective spin move that makes him tough to tackle. Potential is there to be a weapon receiving out of the backfield. Gives effort in pass protection.

Weaknesses: Runs too upright, and doesn't break as many tackles because of it as his size would suggest. When there isn't an obvious hole, he tends to bounce around the line too much. Doesn't always protect the ball by moving it to the outside arm. Doesn't do too much after contact.

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths: Ridiculous size for the position. Long arms, big hands, large and athletic frame. Good quickness off the line and into his set. Uses long arms and strong hands to control pass rushers. Able to recover well when beaten to make blocks. Nasty player that likes to finish blocks. Potential is very high. Could be the bookend right tackle that teams covet.

Weaknesses: Still fairly raw. Quick hands, but bad placement. Too often gets his hands outside the numbers of defenders and gets called for holding. Injury is a bit of a concern. Would like to see him get a little more agile when blocking downfield.

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths: Big, physical receiver. Improving route runner who takes pride in his craft. Good athlete. Able to really control his body well and box out corners on comeback routes. Big, soft hands with great concentration. Fast, projecting something along the lines of 4.45 speed. Good blocker on the outside and always gives effort. Very frustrating to cover one on one due to his physicality.

Weaknesses: Fast, but not explosive. Doesn't really accelerate well in and out of his breaks. Still learning to be a full time wide receiver, as he was recruited as a quarterback. Not the best red zone target despite his size. Not the most elusive running after the catch.

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths: Great frame. Tall and very athletic. Possesses a strong arm and can really spin the football. Accurate short passing. Throws a nice deep ball. Aware in the pocket and can move around well. Scrambles very well. Real threat running the ball. Great leader on and off the field. Sky is the limit, just needs proper coaching and time to develop.

Weaknesses: Still getting a feel for the position. Touch passes need a lot of work. Pats the ball before throwing, leading to late passes. Accuracy is below average past eight yards or so. Needs more confidence in his receivers. Doesn't throw the ball until after the receiver makes break.

FM30's Scouting Report
Strengths: Nice size for a corner, with speed and loose hips to boot. Phenomenal athlete with good footwork. Nice ball skills and will jump routes when he has a chance. Physical player in run support. Shows the swagger that you want in a shutdown corner. Decent understanding of zone coverage.

Weaknesses: Good size, but lanky and should bulk up if he can. Technique needs a little work, he could stay lower in backpedal and bump receivers better. Poor discipline in regards to fakes. Injury concerns.

Finished this much later than expected so I got lazy. Numbers may be off and I don't want to check to see if pictures work. Trades are wacky, but I don't care. The points match up well, so deal with it._________________

I love it! EXCEPT, we need a very solid #2 RB NOW. An undrafted rookie is just not enough IMO. I love Murray, but he hasn't given me any confidence that he can make it through the year healthy, so a start-able #2 is a must. There should be several in FA, or with all those trades you made, you could use a pick on a back. Other than that, it was great!

If it only takes 3 years, $12M to sign Sopoaga, look for him to stay in San Francisco. He's coming off a five-year, $20M contract and teams around the NFL know his value. He'll get a minimum 4-year, $20M to $25M with about $10M guaranteed. Even at 31, he's still one of the best NTs in the game. He'll get paid.

Vasquez is only 26 years old and a good, young guard. He'll definitely get more than $3M a year. Once Levitre signs, I would expect teams to compete for his services. He'll probably get something like 5 years, $25M to $30M with $12M to $15M guaranteed.

3-4 DEs/4-3 DTs that can get to the QB will get paid. Starks, as such, is looking at a minimum of $5M annually and likely more. He signed a 5-year, $20M contract in 2008, and he won't get less than that.

Jennings' contract is probably extremely close to what he'll get.

While I applaud the effort, especially the mock draft portion (although that's an overkill on the OL and could use another safety if Sensabaugh is released), the FA predictions aren't realistic._________________

If it only takes 3 years, $12M to sign Sopoaga, look for him to stay in San Francisco. He's coming off a five-year, $20M contract and teams around the NFL know his value. He'll get a minimum 4-year, $20M to $25M with about $10M guaranteed. Even at 31, he's still one of the best NTs in the game. He'll get paid.

Vasquez is only 26 years old and a good, young guard. He'll definitely get more than $3M a year. Once Levitre signs, I would expect teams to compete for his services. He'll probably get something like 5 years, $25M to $30M with $12M to $15M guaranteed.

3-4 DEs/4-3 DTs that can get to the QB will get paid. Starks, as such, is looking at a minimum of $5M annually and likely more. He signed a 5-year, $20M contract in 2008, and he won't get less than that.

Jennings' contract is probably extremely close to what he'll get.

While I applaud the effort, especially the mock draft portion (although that's an overkill on the OL and could use another safety if Sensabaugh is released), the FA predictions aren't realistic.

If it only takes 3 years, $12M to sign Sopoaga, look for him to stay in San Francisco. He's coming off a five-year, $20M contract and teams around the NFL know his value. He'll get a minimum 4-year, $20M to $25M with about $10M guaranteed. Even at 31, he's still one of the best NTs in the game. He'll get paid.

Vasquez is only 26 years old and a good, young guard. He'll definitely get more than $3M a year. Once Levitre signs, I would expect teams to compete for his services. He'll probably get something like 5 years, $25M to $30M with $12M to $15M guaranteed.

3-4 DEs/4-3 DTs that can get to the QB will get paid. Starks, as such, is looking at a minimum of $5M annually and likely more. He signed a 5-year, $20M contract in 2008, and he won't get less than that.

Jennings' contract is probably extremely close to what he'll get.

While I applaud the effort, especially the mock draft portion (although that's an overkill on the OL and could use another safety if Sensabaugh is released), the FA predictions aren't realistic.

+1

Putting trades in a mock is a pipe dream.

If Houston traded up it would be for an OL, as I see them rebuilding the OL and DL in the off season._________________

If it only takes 3 years, $12M to sign Sopoaga, look for him to stay in San Francisco. He's coming off a five-year, $20M contract and teams around the NFL know his value. He'll get a minimum 4-year, $20M to $25M with about $10M guaranteed. Even at 31, he's still one of the best NTs in the game. He'll get paid.

Vasquez is only 26 years old and a good, young guard. He'll definitely get more than $3M a year. Once Levitre signs, I would expect teams to compete for his services. He'll probably get something like 5 years, $25M to $30M with $12M to $15M guaranteed.

3-4 DEs/4-3 DTs that can get to the QB will get paid. Starks, as such, is looking at a minimum of $5M annually and likely more. He signed a 5-year, $20M contract in 2008, and he won't get less than that.

Jennings' contract is probably extremely close to what he'll get.

While I applaud the effort, especially the mock draft portion (although that's an overkill on the OL and could use another safety if Sensabaugh is released), the FA predictions aren't realistic.

+1

Putting trades in a mock is a pipe dream.

If Houston traded up it would be for an OL, as I see them rebuilding the OL and DL in the off season.

This is a mock draft, its supposed to be a dream. Its what I want to happen, so I can manipulate things to happen the way I need them to for my ideal scenarios to play out. What fun is it if I am going to put all this effort and I can't have a few different scenarios?_________________

I love it! EXCEPT, we need a very solid #2 RB NOW. An undrafted rookie is just not enough IMO. I love Murray, but he hasn't given me any confidence that he can make it through the year healthy, so a start-able #2 is a must. There should be several in FA, or with all those trades you made, you could use a pick on a back. Other than that, it was great!

with 4 top recievers who likely could hit the market, I have my doubts about us being able to trade the injury prone Miles Austin. Bowe, Wallace, Welker and Jennings are all top names.

I also don't really see why the Texans should be interested in our 1st round pick? especially for that high a price.

I think that you undervalue many of the FA's contacts, as others pointed out.

Don't get me wrong, I would love for this to happen. And I do like all of your picks and FA's. It's obviously that you have put a lot of work in it to give a realistic picture of the cap space. Really is a nice mock draft you've created, FM.

- I think I remember you liking Warmack much better then Cooper over in the draft prospects thread (could be wrong), have you finally come to sense or do you just expect Warmack to be gone at that time?

with 4 top recievers who likely could hit the market, I have my doubts about us being able to trade the injury prone Miles Austin. Bowe, Wallace, Welker and Jennings are all top names.

I also don't really see why the Texans should be interested in our 1st round pick? especially for that high a price.

I think that you undervalue many of the FA's contacts, as others pointed out.

Don't get me wrong, I would love for this to happen. And I do like all of your picks and FA's. It's obviously that you have put a lot of work in it to give a realistic picture of the cap space. Really is a nice mock draft you've created, FM.

- I think I remember you liking Warmack much better then Cooper over in the draft prospects thread (could be wrong), have you finally come to sense or do you just expect Warmack to be gone at that time?

It isn't like I dislike Cooper, I have always thought very highly of him. I still think Warmack is the best player in the draft, but Cooper is damn good in his own right_________________

We love having Jason here in Dallas as the Head Coach, but we feel like he had too much on his plate this past season. In order to maximize the success of our head coach, we feel that we need to bring in a play caller that has head coaching experience, and one that Jason can trust. Norv fits all of those qualities, and is one of the best offensive minds in the game today. Having both Callahan and Turner to assist Jason with the offense will make us even more lethal.

Jack Del Rio - Defensive Coordinator

Jack may have had some troubles as a head coach, but we love him as a defensive coordinator. Part of the reason we moved on from Rob Ryan is because we want to look at a 4-3 defense, as we believe that we have good personnel for that scheme. Jack runs the rare two gap 4-3 defense, which should be an easier transition than the standard one gap. Jack does a good job of confusing quarterbacks with different looks and blitz packages. We also like that he mixes up his coverages.

Bobby April - Special Teams Coordinator

There aren't too many better special teams coordinators than Bobby April. Special teams is a huge part of the game today, and ours was clearly lacking last season. Bobby has made a few stops in his coaching career, and most of them have been very successful. We feel like we have the personnel in terms of kicking, punting, and returning, but the results just weren't in our favor. Adding a coach like Bobby will surely increase our special teams success.

Restructures/Extensions

The projected salary cap for next season is around $121,000,000, give or take a few dollars. We are currently sitting at $136,457,621. This may seem like a difficult number for the time being, as we are more than $15M over the cap, but we have a few tricks up our sleeves to get under the cap. A couple fan favorites may be on their way out the door, but it must be done to help the team.

The first thing we plan to do is roll over the extra $4M, which brings us to $132,457,621.

Tony Romo - Quarterback

We fully intend to keep Tony Romo in Dallas for the rest of his career. We back Tony, and want to extend his contract for a few more seasons. We believe that Tony deserves a deal that is somewhere between the Matt Schaub and Michael Vick range. We will give Tony a five year extension, worth $70M, with $30M in guaranteed money. We are committed to Tony, and this offseason will show that. This move also reduces his 2013 cap hit to roughly $8.54M.

Brandon Carr - Cornerback

Brandon has a monumental cap hit for 2013, but we are going to restructure his contract in a responsible way. We love our combo of Carr and Claiborne, and are fully committed to Carr for the remainder of his deal. We are confident that he can retain a high level of play. This move reduces his 2013 cap hit to about $10.4M.

Miles Austin - Wide Receiver

Because Austin's final year of his contract has no guaranteed money, we re-worked his deal to save about $4M off the 2013 salary cap. We hope that Miles can stay healthy next season, as he will be crucial to our success.

Jason Witten - Tight End

The next restructure goes to the most reliable tight end in the NFL, Jason Witten. We will convert his $5.5M salary to $1M, with $4.5M in signing bonus. This move reduces Witten's 2013 cap hit by approximately $3M.

DeMarcus Ware - Linebacker

We will need every dollar we can get, and this is a move that will save us around $2M by tweaking Ware's deal slightly.

Sean Lee - Linebacker

Sean Lee is the quarterback of our defense, and we really missed him in the latter half of the season. We want Sean to know how important he is to this defense, and that we still believe that he will be one of the best linebackers in the NFL, if he isn't already. We are proud to announce that Sean Lee has signed a five year extension worth $40M, with half of that in guaranteed money. His 2013 cap hit increases by $2.125M.

The 2013 Dallas Cowboys will see a lot of new faces. We promised change at Valley Ranch, and we plan to deliver on that promise. Some cuts are made for monetary purposes, while others just did not fit into the future plans. Our current salary cap number after restructures and extensions is around $106,642,621. Without further ado...

Dan Connor - Linebacker

We cannot afford to pay our fourth string inside linebacker over $4M next season. We appreciate everything that Dan has done in Dallas. Cutting Dan saves us around $3M.

Doug Free - Offensive Tackle

Everyone at Valley Ranch was extremely disappointed in Doug. We think very highly of Doug, but it says a lot when we have to rotate our right tackle every other offensive possession. We are paying Doug like a franchise left tackle, and that is just not acceptable right now. We will save $2.825M by cutting Free, and even more for the big 2014 offseason.

Gerald Sensebaugh - Safety

We are looking for consistency at the safety position to finally solve our secondary woes. Right now, we are in a tough spot with Gerald. But we like a lot of our young talent, and this is the year to draft a good safety or two, as we believe we can get premier talent in the third or fourth round with how deep it is. This move saves us about $1.25M off the 2013 cap.

Jay Ratliff - Defensive Tackle

At this point in his career, Jay is getting recognition off of name alone. His prime is behind him, and it is time to admit that signing him to a big extension was a mistake. Losing both Ratliff and Josh Brent will leave us thin at nose tackle, but it will be a position that we thoroughly address in the draft and free agency. This move saves us about $1M.

Marcus Spears - Defensive End

Marcus is a great run stopping end, but we need our ends to be able to stop the run as well as rush the passer. Marcus has had a great ride here in Dallas, and we wish him the best. By designating Spears as a post June 1st cut, we will save $1.65M.

Ryan Cook - CenterSaves $1.1M.

Eric Frampton - SafetySaves $950K.

Anthony Armstrong - Wide ReceiverSaves $630K.

Phillip Tanner - Running BackSaves $555K.

Chris Jones - PunterSaves $555K.

Donovon Kemp - Wide ReceiverSaves $480K.

These moves put us well below the cap, as we are now sitting pretty at $92,747,621.

Ernie Sims - Linebacker
Ernie played very well in our system, and we would like to see him return as a nickel linebacker. We signed Ernie to a two year deal worth $5M. His first year cap hit will be about $1M.

L.P. Ladouceur - Long SnapperIf it ain't broke, we won't fix it. L.P. has been a very consistent long snapper for us, and we will bring him back on a three year deal worth $3M. His first year cap hit will be about $700K.

After locking up some of our own players, we are back up to $94,447,621. We will set aside around $6M for our draft picks, which puts us at $100,447,621. This leaves us with just over $20M to sign some quality free agents.

Free Agency

[img]http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/462/327/105296823_display_image.jpg?1287951878[/img]
Daryl Smith - LinebackerSigned to a five year deal worth $28M. Cap hit of about $4.5M.

Regardless of the formation, we want to make sure that we have one of, if not the strongest linebacker groups in the NFL. We plan on rolling with Sean Lee in the middle and Bruce Carter on the weak side. The 4-3 SAM position is one of the most overlooked positions in all of football, but Daryl is one of the best. Unfortunately, Daryl was sidelined most of the 2012 season with a groin injury, but we are not concerned as he has never missed more than two games in a season, save for last year.

Pat Lee - CornerbackSigned to a three year deal worth $5M. Cap hit of around $800K.

We lost our special teams ace in Danny McCray, but Pat Lee will make him go almost unnoticed. Lee is a great special teamer in his own right, and he can come in and play in dime packages as a fourth or fifth corner.

Doug Free just was not cutting it for us this past season, and we are prepared to give Romo the upgrades on the line that he deserves this season. We are very impressed with Smith's run blocking, which is evident by Cincinnati averaging 5.5 yards per carry behind Andre. He is also above average in pass protection despite his size. He has very quick feet, and should stick well on the right side of our line.

Matt Slauson - Offensive GuardSigned to a four year contract worth $12M. Cap hit of around $2M.

Coach Callahan approached us saying that he really wants to bring Matt Slauson in as a free agent to compete with Bernadeau for the starting right guard spot. We are signing Slauson to a very similar deal, so there is little risk involved. There is no plan for who the starter will be. Both guys will have a chance to prove to us that they should be the starter.

Jason Jones - Defensive TackleSigned to a five year deal worth $26M. Cap hit around $4M.

Jason expressed interest in getting out of the logjam of defensive linemen in Seattle, and decided to join us here where he can have a starting job. We really like what Jones has done over the past few seasons. We believe that Jones is a relatively under the radar signing, and will provide a solid pass rush from the interior. Jones will get slightly less than the contract given to Cullen Jenkins.

Draft

Draft Choices:
1.18
2.47
3.78
4.114
5.146
6.178

Trade

We receive a call from Baltimore, who is looking to move up. We tried to get a 1st and a 2nd from Baltimore, but we settled on a 1st, 3rd, and 4th. The official trade is the 18th overall pick (900 points) to Baltimore for the 25th (720 points), 87th pick (155 points), and 119th pick (56 points). The trade favors us by 31 points, which is the equivalent of a late 5th round pick.

By giving Tony Romo a five year extension, we proved to him that we want to keep him around, and we want to keep him upright and healthy for the remainder of his career. This is just the first of a few picks to address the trenches this year. Cooper is the most athletic guard in the draft this year, and will make a very athletic and formidable left side with Tyron Smith for the better part of a decade. Our scouts are very high on Cooper, who we had graded as a top fifteen prospect in the draft. Fortunately for us, interior offensive linemen are often undervalued on draft, and we could scoop up Cooper here, ten picks later than when we were about to take him.

After solidifying our offensive line, we wanted to address the other side of the trenches, and we just so happened to go with another North Carolina lineman. Williams fits in with the two gap 4-3 system that we are trying to implement. He is big, athletic, and a force against the run. He also has shown flashes of collapsing the pocket and has a good work ethic. We are excited to pick up Sylvester in the second, and think he is a solid value pick here. We expect him to compete for a starting job immediately.

The lack of turnovers from our defense over the past few seasons has been just abysmal, particularly from the safety position. In order to fix this, we are bringing in the FBS leader in interceptions, Phillip Thomas. Thomas has great instincts, which he uses to locate the ball, before using his quick closing speed and good hands to come up with interceptions. He is also not afraid to play up in the box, and is big enough to lay the lumber. In most other drafts, Thomas would be gone in the early second round, so we are happy to draft him in the third.

The final piece to our offensive line. Wagner will battle with Jeremy Parnell for the starting right tackle spot. We really like Wagner, and would have considered drafting him last year had he come out, so we have a lot of tape on him. He is an average athlete, but makes up for it with long arms and decent strength. Coach Callahan will still need to refine his technique, but we expect him to develop into a starting caliber right tackle.

Just a couple years ago, many considered Landry to be a top ten talent at quarterback. He has fallen off quite a bit since then, and we saw a few project quarterbacks like Zac Dysert, E.J. Manuel, and Ryan Nassib go before him. We do not intend to start Landry right away, but we want him to learn under Romo. Our scouts likes Landry's physical tools. He has a strong arm, possesses above average accuracy, and has an NFL type body. We feel like he will develop better decision making and leadership skills by sitting on the bench behind Romo for a few seasons. But we also hope that he can develop into our future starting quarterback.

Lavar has really flown under the radar this past season, as he racked up 4.5 sacks as a rotational defensive lineman. He has done everything that LSU has asked him to do and then some. Edwards is a team player that will have time to sit and learn from one of the best pass rushers in the game. We believe that Edwards can develop into an above average rotational defensive end, with a lot of potential for versatility.

Barner gets a lot of credit for his speed, and he should. But he doesn't get credit for being an all around back that can really hold his own on third downs. We were disappointed in what Felix Jones offered us over the past few seasons, but we believe Barner can fill that role and then some. He will be a great change of pace back to Demarco Murray.

6th Round

Brad Wing - Punter
Height - 6'3
Weight - 185
School - Louisiana State

It is not too often that you see a special teams player declare as a redshirt sophomore, but Brad Wing can kick. Punting is an extremely underrated portion of a football game. Field position can decide games, and is part of the reason that our defense struggled last season. We could not find a consistent punter that we are happy with, so we want to bring in Wing to see if he can make an impact. Additionally, he is a great athlete, and can be counted on should we go for any fake punts.

First off, can anyone replying, please not include the full original post? Appreciate the work done, but every reply will take a whole page. Not a fan of completely sacrificing our future cap.

Ware is already scheduled to count 15 and 16 mil in 2014 and 2015. If we restructure, he'll be pushing 18mil.

Austin currently has a trade/cut friendly contract. If we restructure his contract, and he continues to be injury prone and under produce, we will be stuck. I don't understand the thing about his last year not having any guaranteed money. Don't you have to spread the signing bonus evenly over the remaining years. You can't dump it all in his last year, can you?

Witten is a beast, and will play no matter what injuries, so this is one of the few contracts/players I see where it makes sense to restructure. We could convert 5mil of his salary this year into a signing bonus and spread it over the 5 years remaining. Gain 4 mil in cap space this year.

Carr is the other one that makes sense. He'll be 31 at the end of his contract, and his last year salary is 10mil, so if he significantly declines, we would still get cap relief for releasing him. I'm assuming Stephen planned to restructure, when he negotiated the contract, and that's why he has a 14mil base salary in 2013.